The behavioral effects of frequent nightmares on objective stress tolerance

Bibliographic Data

ID3900628
AuthorsKevin D Hochard (0000-0001-9611-4683, Nottingham Trent University), Nadja Heym (0000-0003-2414-8854, Nottingham Trent University), Ellen Townsend (0000-0002-4677-5958, Nottingham Trent University)
Year2016
Volume26
Issue1
Pages42-49
Publication date2016-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDreaming (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1053-0797 • E-ISSN: 1573-3351
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/drm0000013
OpenAlexW2267967984
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited5

Frequent nightmares have been linked to daily distress using self-report measures. The present study investigated the impact of frequent nightmares on a stressful cognitive test requiring participants to perform additions of 2 previously displayed single digit numbers from a number series, where display latency between digits becomes increasingly short-the Paced Visual Serial Addition Task-Computerized (PVSAT-C). Participants experiencing frequent nightmares (n = 43) and controls (n = 42) were compared on PVSAT-C performance. A significant main effect of nightmare frequency was observed with participants in the frequent nightmare group enduring the task for a shorter duration than controls (a behavioral measure of stress tolerance). Results suggest that individuals experiencing frequent nightmares have a reduced tolerance for stressors, leading to increased daily vulnerability to stressful stimuli. This study confirms previous findings linking nightmares and daily distress and extends the literature by providing objective evidence for the link between nightmares and reduced stress tolerance through behavioral testing. These findings highlight nightmares as a salient target for clinical intervention

Linguistics · Stress (linguistics · Clinical Psychology · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Sleep and related disorders · Sleep and Wakefulness Research